Mom Dies After Changing Baby's Diaper

By: Mackenzie Wright | November 2, 2018

A woman was taking care of her baby, performing the common daily routine of changing a diaper. After changing her baby, she took the soiled diaper to the terrace of her relative's home and attempted to throw it into a patch of land below.

As she did so, she accidentally hit a power line with the diaper, resulting in a fatal shock.

The Indian woman, only identified as 'Annu', is from Himachal Pradesh. She was visiting her uncle in southwestern Delhi during the Hindu holidays, along with her infant son.

The 24-year-old mother had just changed her son's diaper and wanted to dispose of it. She brought it to the terrace. Below, there was an open patch of land littered with waste.

The woman tried to throw the diaper down there, but as she raised it and threw it, the diaper struck an overhead power line.

The jolt was so powerful that the woman's clothes caught on fire. She was rushed to the hospital, but they were unable to save her. She was pronounced dead the same day.

Police say they are investigating the incident to determine how the accident could have happened. After an autopsy, the body will be returned to the family.

Sadly, these kinds of deaths by electrocution happen a lot in India. In July, a cleaning woman was working when she went to the window to throw water out. The water spilled on a power line and a jolt flung her from the second-floor window to the ground below.

She died after suffering from multiple injuries and burns.

When anything, including water, touches power lines, it can channel the electricity right from the line to the source—even if that source is you. In the U.S., one firefighter died and four others were shocked when water from a hose hit a power line.

According to CNN, a power company reported to investigators that energy surrounding the wire can arc and electrocute any objects that get within three or four feet of the power line - they don't have to touch.

India has a high rate of accidental deaths due to electric shock. According to The Hindu, 'bad quality of power and erratic power' is behind many accidents. One study showed that more than 2,000 farmers alone died in their fields due to electric shock between 2005 and 2012.

In 2014 alone, more than 9,600 people in total died of accidental electrocution in the country, according to data.gov.in.

Humans aren't the only ones in danger. Many animals, such as elephants, tigers, monkeys and flamingos, have been found accidentally electrocuted when they're near human settlements. The animals come into contact with poorly maintained electric lines and wires.

Power lines that hang too low are often the culprit, posing a danger to animal habitats. In other cases, farmers leave electric fences running without upkeep and maintenance. Some electrical lines running through forest areas get forgotten and neglected.

The country is working to revamp guidelines to keep animals from accidentally meeting a shocking death.